<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%" bgColor=white border=0 xmlns:msxsl="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xslt" xmlns:js="http://cbs.markewatch.com/xsl"><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%">S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 of a point and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 3.5 points.
Crude-oil futures continued to decline, weakening 68 cents to $57.34 a barrel after Wednesday's data surprise.
The dollar was slightly weaker against the euro and the yen.
Focus stocks
Finnish mobile-phone maker Nokia Corp (NOK: news, chart, profile) tumbled 8% in European trading as its profits for the second-quarter, and outlook for the third, failed to meet broker forecasts. Nokia said profit rose 15% to 799 million euros, or 18 euro cents a share, on sales growth of 25% to 8.06 billion euros.
German software giant SAP AG (SAP: news, chart, profile) posted a 16% increase in second-quarter profit, ahead of analysts' expectations, on a strong rise in U.S. license sales. But concerns over declining German license revenue and unchanged guidance weighed on the shares.
Ericsson (ERICY: news, chart, profile) , the telecom equipment maker, said second-quarter net income rose 16%, helped by strong emerging markets growth and ongoing North American network roll out. The company also painted a slightly more optimistic picture about the industry for 2005. Ericsson shares rose over 1% in Stockholm trade.
The Coca-Cola Co. (KO: news, chart, profile) said second-quarter net profit rose 9% to $1.72 billion, or 72 cents a share, with operating revenue up 7% to $6.31 billion. Excluding 4 cents of a share from benefit of legal and tax matters, it would've earned 68 cents a share in the quarter, against broker forecasts of 64 cents a share on revenue of $6.34 billion, according to Thomson First Call. Coca-Cola said it plans to buy back at least $2 billion in shares during 2005 and bought back $1 billion in the second quarter.
EBay (EBAY: news, chart, profile) climbed in after-hours trade Wednesday after the company's profit surged 53 percent to 21 cents a share, and subsequently raised revenue and net profit forecasts in the current third quarter. The company's second-quarter revenue rose 40% to $1.09 billion behind acceleration in its U.S. business and online-payment service. See full story.
Homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI: news, chart, profile) said third-quarter net income climbed 48% to $372 million, or $1.17 a share, with revenue up 21% to $3.4 billion and homes closed rising 11% to 12,269. Fort Worth, Tex.-based D.R. Horton lifted its fiscal year earnings guidance to a range of $4.35 to $4.40 a share on revenue of more than $13 billion and approximately 50,000 homes closed. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.09 a share for the third quarter and $4.19 for the fiscal year, according to Thomson First Call.
Top Delta Air Lines (DAL: news, chart, profile) executives and board members in recent weeks have warned Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein that the current turnaround plan may be futile and that avoiding Chapter 11 soon will be impossible, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Large portions of "bankruptcy proof" special pensions -- granted in 2002 to keep executives at the carrier while it tried to reverse its losses -- might be wiped out if Delta filed for court protection from creditors under Chapter 11, prompting concern that key executives and senior pilots may leave, the report added.
Broker calls
Prudential Equity Group cut auto-parts group Dana Corp. (DCN: news, chart, profile) to neutral weight from overweight, saying that positive factors appear to be currently priced into the shares. The broker told clients that the Heavy Truck outlook is a concern based on declining indicators and noted that 2005 guidance for earnings in the range of $1.30 to $1.45 a share may be hard to attain given the broker's production outlook for Dana's key platforms in the second half of the year.
J.P. Morgan cut information technology Unisys Corp. (UIS: news, chart, profile) to underweight from neutral, citing the lack of visibility due to problems on some contracts. The broker also told clients that there's uncertainty surrounding prospects for the expected surge in technology business server sales in the second half and the pension expense in fiscal 2006
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Steve Goldstein is MarketWatch's London bureau chief</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Crude-oil futures continued to decline, weakening 68 cents to $57.34 a barrel after Wednesday's data surprise.
The dollar was slightly weaker against the euro and the yen.
Focus stocks
Finnish mobile-phone maker Nokia Corp (NOK: news, chart, profile) tumbled 8% in European trading as its profits for the second-quarter, and outlook for the third, failed to meet broker forecasts. Nokia said profit rose 15% to 799 million euros, or 18 euro cents a share, on sales growth of 25% to 8.06 billion euros.
German software giant SAP AG (SAP: news, chart, profile) posted a 16% increase in second-quarter profit, ahead of analysts' expectations, on a strong rise in U.S. license sales. But concerns over declining German license revenue and unchanged guidance weighed on the shares.
Ericsson (ERICY: news, chart, profile) , the telecom equipment maker, said second-quarter net income rose 16%, helped by strong emerging markets growth and ongoing North American network roll out. The company also painted a slightly more optimistic picture about the industry for 2005. Ericsson shares rose over 1% in Stockholm trade.
The Coca-Cola Co. (KO: news, chart, profile) said second-quarter net profit rose 9% to $1.72 billion, or 72 cents a share, with operating revenue up 7% to $6.31 billion. Excluding 4 cents of a share from benefit of legal and tax matters, it would've earned 68 cents a share in the quarter, against broker forecasts of 64 cents a share on revenue of $6.34 billion, according to Thomson First Call. Coca-Cola said it plans to buy back at least $2 billion in shares during 2005 and bought back $1 billion in the second quarter.
EBay (EBAY: news, chart, profile) climbed in after-hours trade Wednesday after the company's profit surged 53 percent to 21 cents a share, and subsequently raised revenue and net profit forecasts in the current third quarter. The company's second-quarter revenue rose 40% to $1.09 billion behind acceleration in its U.S. business and online-payment service. See full story.
Homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI: news, chart, profile) said third-quarter net income climbed 48% to $372 million, or $1.17 a share, with revenue up 21% to $3.4 billion and homes closed rising 11% to 12,269. Fort Worth, Tex.-based D.R. Horton lifted its fiscal year earnings guidance to a range of $4.35 to $4.40 a share on revenue of more than $13 billion and approximately 50,000 homes closed. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.09 a share for the third quarter and $4.19 for the fiscal year, according to Thomson First Call.
Top Delta Air Lines (DAL: news, chart, profile) executives and board members in recent weeks have warned Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein that the current turnaround plan may be futile and that avoiding Chapter 11 soon will be impossible, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Large portions of "bankruptcy proof" special pensions -- granted in 2002 to keep executives at the carrier while it tried to reverse its losses -- might be wiped out if Delta filed for court protection from creditors under Chapter 11, prompting concern that key executives and senior pilots may leave, the report added.
Broker calls
Prudential Equity Group cut auto-parts group Dana Corp. (DCN: news, chart, profile) to neutral weight from overweight, saying that positive factors appear to be currently priced into the shares. The broker told clients that the Heavy Truck outlook is a concern based on declining indicators and noted that 2005 guidance for earnings in the range of $1.30 to $1.45 a share may be hard to attain given the broker's production outlook for Dana's key platforms in the second half of the year.
J.P. Morgan cut information technology Unisys Corp. (UIS: news, chart, profile) to underweight from neutral, citing the lack of visibility due to problems on some contracts. The broker also told clients that there's uncertainty surrounding prospects for the expected surge in technology business server sales in the second half and the pension expense in fiscal 2006
</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Steve Goldstein is MarketWatch's London bureau chief</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
